Reading to Your Child Before Bed: One Simple Way to Support School Success
- peaceriverlearning
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
If you want to help your child do well in school, one of the most effective habits you can build is reading to your child before bed.
Reading together at bedtime helps children develop early literacy skills, build confidence with language, and feel more comfortable with books; all of which support success in school.
You don’t need worksheets.
You don’t need apps.
You don’t need expensive programs.
You just need a few quiet minutes of reading together at the end of the day.
This is something I’ve seen make a real difference, both in my work with families and in my own home.
A quick personal story about repetition
Eric Carle books are especially effective for early literacy development because they use repetition, rhythm, and clear sentence patterns. These features help young children learn how language works and support early speaking and reading skills.
One of my daughter’s favourite books when she was little was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
By the time she was three years old, she could pretty much quote the entire book.
And yes, there were moments when reading it again felt a little maddening.
But that repetition is exactly what helped her:
learn to speak clearly
understand the rhythm and tone of English
build early reading skills
feel confident with language
Repetition works.
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? might drive you a bit crazy at a certain point — but it’s also one of the reasons many children learn to read more easily later on.
Books that help children understand feelings
Another favourite in our house was the Little Critter books.
On every page, it almost became a race. My kids were excitedly searching for the little mouse, grasshopper, and spider hidden in the corners of each illustration.
Those books are extremely cute and have great stories, but they also do something important.
They help children think about emotions and feelings.
They give words to things like frustration, excitement, disappointment, and kindness.
Even while my kids were racing to spot the hidden characters, they were also learning how to name feelings and understand what characters were experiencing.
That’s literacy too.
Reading isn’t just about letters and words.
It’s about helping children make sense of emotions, situations, and relationships. These are all skills they will need when they start school.
Reading to your child before bed is a great a way to calm down and connect
Reading together is a great way to bond with your children, but it also helps them calm down before sleep. When reading to your child before bed becomes part of a routine, learning feels calm and safe instead of stressful.
When my kids were toddlers and especially wiggly, I often read to them in the bathtub.
It worked surprisingly well.
They could sit, listen, and play with a toy in the water while I read.
There was less pressure to be perfectly still.
And they were still hearing language, stories, and rhythm.
Bath-time reading helped them get used to sitting quietly and listening — without turning it into a battle.
That counts as reading too.
If reading feels hard for you
This matters, so I want to say it clearly.
If reading is difficult for you, you are not failing your child.
You can:
talk about the pictures
tell the story in your own words
read part of the page
listen to audiobooks together
What helps children most is not perfect reading.
It’s time, attention, and routine.
Reading together as children get older
As my children got older, our reading changed — but it didn’t stop.
We read Charlotte’s Web.
We read The BFG and James and the Giant Peach.
We read Harry Potter.
We read A Series of Unfortunate Events and The Boxcar Children.
We read Stuart Little.
We read historical fiction together.
Some nights I read aloud.
Some nights we took turns.
Some nights we stopped in the middle and picked it up again the next day.
What mattered wasn’t finishing the book.
What mattered was that reading stayed part of our routine.
Reading to children works best when books match their age and attention level. Choosing age-appropriate books helps children stay engaged, understand stories more easily, and develop strong reading habits over time.
Below is a simple list of books to read to children by age, based on what I’ve seen work well with families.
A practical list of books by age
You don’t need dozens of books.
A small, familiar rotation works best.
Ages 0–3
Short, repetitive, and calming
Repetition at this age helps children learn to speak clearly, understand English rhythm, and feel confident with words.
Ages 4–5
Stories, routine, and emotional language
Books at this stage help children talk about feelings and everyday situations — skills that matter in school.
Ages 6–10
Longer stories and shared reading
Charlotte’s Web
Harry Potter
A Series of Unfortunate Events
Longer stories build comprehension, attention, and critical thinking — all skills children use every day in school.
What if reading is hard for parents?
This matters, so I want to say it clearly.
If reading is difficult for you, you are not failing your child.
You can:
talk about the pictures
tell the story in your own words
read part of the page
listen to audiobooks together
What helps children most is not perfect reading.
It’s time, attention, and routine.
A note for adults reading this
Many parents want to help their children learn to read, but quietly struggle with reading themselves.
If you’re an adult who wants to improve your reading skills — or feel more confident reading to your children or grandchildren — you’re not alone.
At Vision Learning Centre, we help adults learn to read, improve literacy skills, and build confidence with language in a supportive, judgment-free environment.
Learning to read as an adult isn’t about going back to school or feeling embarrassed.
It’s about moving forward.
If you’d like support for yourself, or you know someone who would love to learn to read, send them our way. We’re here to help. We've helped so many adults become strong readers.
One small habit that makes a big difference
If you want to help your child do well in school, start here:
Read together before bed.
A few minutes a night.
A familiar book.
A calm moment.
Those small routines build language, confidence, and a strong foundation for learning — for children and adults alike.
-Chelsey, Executive Director
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